IN A big boost for fight against illegal personal data collection based on race, social class, shopping habits, and others, the Court of Appeal gave its consent for action against Google.
Over four million iPhone users in the UK are expected to get a £750 each in compensation from Google following the court ruling.
The top search engine lost a major case at the Court of Appeal on Wednesday (2) after the judge ruled that it had organised illegal and clandestine tracking of Apple device users in 2011 and 2012.
The search giant used third-party cookies to steal personal data of iPhone users in the UK.
The court said that information gathered included race, social class, financial data, shopping habits, location data, sexuality, and others.
Google could face a bill of up to £3.3 billion from UK customers for allegedly gathering and sharing the personal information of millions of iPhone users in the UK by bypassing the default privacy settings on the Apple device between June 2011 and February 2012.
The Court of Appeal claim was moved by Richard Lloyd.
The former Which? director Lloyd, formed a consumer campaign called ‘Google You Owe Us’ as part of his legal move against the company.
The claim group is expected to win at least £1bn in compensation for an estimated 4.4 million users affected.
Lloyd said: "…judgment sends a very clear message to Google and other large tech companies - you are not above the law."
Legal experts opine that the latest ruling could impact future claims against business giants over data collection.
Meanwhile, Google said it is seeking approval to appeal and take the case to the Supreme Court.
Last year, London's High Court ruled that Google's alleged role in personal data collection from the browser was wrongful and a breach of duty.
The High Court also added that the claimants had not suffered "damage" as specified by the British law.
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